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The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets. For over three generations, the Academy has connected millions of people to great poetry through programs such as National Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world; Poets.org, the Academy’s popular website; American Poets, a biannual literary journal; and an annual series of poetry readings and special events. Since its founding, the Academy has awarded more money to poets than any other organization.

Thylias Moss

Thylias Moss was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on February 27, 1954. She earned a B.A. from Oberlin College and an M.A. from the University of New Hampshire. Her books of poetry include Slave Moth: A Narrative in Verse (Persea Books, 2004), Last Chance for the Tarzan Holler (1998), Small Congregations: New and Selected Poems (1993), Rainbow Remnants in Rock Bottom Ghetto Sky (1991), At Redbones (1990), Pyramid of Bone (1989), and Hosiery Seams on a Bowlegged Woman (1983). She is the author of a memoir, Tale of a Sky-Blue Dress (1998), and two plays, Talking to Myself (1984) and The Dolls in the Basement (1984). Among her honors are a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Dewar's Profiles Performance Award, a Witter Bynner Award for Poetry, and a Whiting Award. She lives in Michigan.

by this poet

This did not happen
although I have memories of it:
a doctor unwrapping a tutu
so I knew I was in a hospital
but one unlike any other
practicing strange medicine
but this strangeness has been effective
A hospital for dancers?
I was in pink,
sequined
I had been in a street,
an alley and
I was left

Snow White was nude at her wedding, she's so white
the gown seemed to disappear when she put it on.
Put me beside her and the proximity is good
for a study of chiaroscuro, not much else.
Her name aggravates me most, as if I need to be told
what's white and what isn't.
Judging strictly by appearance there's a